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Crown Vic Lights

 Safety lights on the edge of the door
  (+8)(+8)
(+8) 		  [vote for,
against]

I saw on some news show or something that the number one cause of death for police officers on duty is being hit by a car while pulled over on the highway.

This idea is for a line or two of very bright LED's along the rear facing edge of the open driver's side door, to call attention to the few feet or so of space next to the parked cruiser.

The lights could be attached to an armature that could be swung out independently of the door if necessary, so that the door can be closed but the lights would still trace out the outline that the door would if it were open.

—JakePatterson, Mar 18 2006

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       Can't you put the lights on the police(wo)man, so s/he is illuminated while walking to and from the perps, and not just while grilling them?   

       (Not entirely sure whether you're placing your lights on the cruiser - which seems odd, surely the headlights would illuminate the area in front? - or on the perp's car - how would you enforce that?)
—DrCurry, Mar 18 2006
   

       To clarify: this is for the situation where the police pull over another driver, the two cars usually wind up parked on the side of the road with the cruiser (in the US, a Ford Crown Victoria, hence the title) is parked behind the car that is pulled over, such that on-coming traffic passes the cruiser, and then the car that is pulled over. The lights would be on the door of the cruiser, facing the rear, so that the on-coming trafic would see the illuminated outline of the door, and be prompted to move to the left (in right-side driving areas) to allow a safety space.
—JakePatterson, Mar 18 2006
   

       I don't know how well it would work, as the reason for crashes like this is that people tend to stare at the scene on the side of the road, and have a natural tendency to drift in the direction they're looking.   

       However, I'll bun any idea posted with the intention of saving the lives of police officers. [+]
—Freefall, Mar 18 2006
   

       Don't US police cars keep their flashing lights on the top of the car going while they're pulled over?
—hippo, Mar 18 2006
   

       This is an after-the-fact point that I'm making, but in the US you have to move over one lane or, if that's not possible, slow down when approaching a stopped emergency vehicle of any kind. Failure to do that results in a ticket if the police officer is feeling frisky, and hitting a cop for failure to do that tacks on extra time to your vehicular manslaughter sentence.   

       This seems like a good idea, but what happens when somebody hits the armature on the door? The armature goes flying and hits the cop anyway.   

       I'm all in favor of anything that protects police from idiots like me, so [+]. But I figure better drivers' ed would be a better long run solution.
—shapu, Mar 18 2006
   

       I guess the cops driving the impalas, mustangs, granfurys, caprices and tahoes are just SOL.
—jhomrighaus, Mar 19 2006
   

       Most cops i've seen pulling over other cars in canada stop their car a few feet further on to the road than the car they are pulling over, using their car as a shield between them and traffic.
—BPhilpotts, Dec 12 2006
   

       Most of the time when I see someone pulled over, the cruiser is parked farther off of the shoulder than the car being pulled over, but in my experience, they just come to the window, get your driver's liscense and insurance, go back to the car as quickly as possible, and return with your ticket, giving you as little time as possible to explain why you were going 2 MPH over the speed limit, but maybe thats just me. But it does seem that anytime the car is not pulled far enough over, the officer tends to go to the passenger side. But I do think the swing arm would help by making the car appear wider in a way, so [+].
—Hunter79764, Dec 12 2006
   


 

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